First Moments
by Sundarii
Summary: There's a first time for everything. [ Jin x Fuu ]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Champloo.

Drabble 1: Fuu's First visit from Uncle T.O.M.

A high-pitched, terrified scream echoes throughout the forest and two men of directly contrasting natures run together toward the reverberating sound. Though they will never admit it aloud, they both desperately pray at the same exact moment that nothing happens to that "damn bitch" as Mugen likes to call her and then with a glance simultaneously agree to never speak of how their hearts pounded after sprinting the damned fastest they've ever ran.

But when they reach campsite and both realize that Fuu has not been physically injured in any way, any alliances made in those few precious seconds are immediately cut off and Mugen rolls his eyes and curses then walks away while Jin is left to deal with the shaking pale girl. Jin waits for an explanation patiently but the words softly uttered are certainly not what he expects from the normally docile Fuu.

"I'm dying."

"…Pardon?"

"I'm dying, Jin," Fuu repeats seriously, eyes filled with tears.

A furrowed brow. "I am afraid I still do not understand. How exactly…?" Jin trails off.

"From the inside. I know it. I caught some kind of horrible disease from that unsanitary beast Mugen and now I'm dying. Or there's a stomach-clenching monster buried my belly that is going to squeeze out all my blood and I'll slowly drain away or maybe I'm paying for some kind of terrible misdeed that I've done—I swear if I live through this I'll be a better person— and now I'm gonna slowly bleed to death—owwww, it's on the attack again, Jin, help me kill it—

Whatever color Jin had gained from his sprint immediately leaves his face as his attention is brought to the blood dripping down Fuu's legs. Now in hysterics, Fuu shrieks with fear and sobs, curling up into a ball on the now red forest floor while the silent samurai groans and resists the strong urge to gag, all the while wondering why _he_ has to be the one to give Fuu the talk on life.

**Fin**

Haha. The idea just came to me in the middle of the night, and I needed to type it out before I lost it. Hope you liked it!

Go on. Leave a review. Make me feel awesome ;) Or flame if you want. I'm pretty chill.

Expect some more drabbles, some much more serious than this. And please excuse any grammatical errors, I don't have a beta but would gladly accept any criticism or even offers for a beta-reader. 


	2. Moment the second

Disclaimer: Samurai Champloo is not mine. Sadly.

Because there's a first time for _everything_.

Drabble the second: The first time Jin and Fuu share a moment. VeryMild Fuu x Jin

_Damn the rain_, Jin thinks dully as he stares at the dirt path littered with leaves ahead of him. The relentless pitter-patter of the miniscule droplets against his traveling hat give no indication of ceasing, and he knows that if they keep walking, someone—most likely Fuu—will get sick. He hears a tiny sneeze. Getting sick means **expensive **doctor's visits and more **expensive **bills with even more **expensive **medicine, which means finding and getting _jobs_ to pay for those visits and bills and medicine, which means unnecessarily interacting with other people which leads to VERY LONG DAYS which usually ensure an extremely discontented Jin. So maybe he should just keep walking so someone gets sick and dies, releasing him from his duties.

But then, he sighs, he would at least owe that someone a decent burial. With priests.

Who cost money.

Jin sighs again, knowing already that Fuu will ask him what the matter is after a few seconds of reluctance.

10

Fuu spares him a worried glance.

9

She opens her mouth once,

8

Twice,

7

Then shuts it. She stops,

6

Averts her eyes to the puddles on the ground,

5

Rethinks her decision,

4

Twitches

3

And comes to a conclusion:

2

_It's not like he'd kill her for asking or anything,_

1

She catches up to Jin (but first goes slightly out of her way to splash a particularly deep looking puddle) and opens her mouth again.

"Is something wrong, Jin?"

"…We should stop."

"Ehh?" she's confused, but her exhausted eyes thank him gratefully.

Jin then turns to his other…companion, seeing no need to repeat his suggestion. "Oi."

"I heard you already, Fishface." Jin's right eyebrow twitches once, twice—the only indication of his irritation. "And besides, I don't think so. Who made you boss of what we do?"

"It's common sense," Jin retorts with narrowed eyes and a hand near his katana. Just in case.

_It's better to be prepared, is Jin's motto._

Mugen snarls. "You wanna duke it out now? Let's go!"

_Fight that fish-bastard whenever and wherever possible, is Mugen's motto._

Jin glares. "Now is not the time. If we don't stop Fuu will become ill."

"I will do no such thing!" exclaims Fuu indignantly, as if Jin's inappropriately propositioned her.

_Never be helpless again, is Fuu's motto_.

But she knows Jin's right—and that he's won—when she sniffles. And then sneezes.

"Doesn't mean anything," she grumbles, sliding to the ground in embarrassment as the two men look on. But she's not her mother, and she won't succumb to any kind of sickness, and she'll prove it.

"Tch," spits Mugen after a pregnant pause. "No point in continuing today."

Fuu remains silent for the rest of the night. Although Jin and Mugen have no complaints, they cannot ignore the strangeness of complete—and almost uncomfortable—silence. It's unbearable, thinks Mugen, and he decides to return the next day after visiting the nearest brothel. _This should ease the tension_.

"Fuck yeah," he grins. "Gettin' fuckin' laid." In a moment of generosity, he asks, "You comin', Fishface? For some—" Mugen finishes with crude pelvic movement.

"…No."

"Too damn bad for you, then."

And he leaves.

Jin thanks his fates for the good luck but now realizes that he's alone with a sullen, silent Fuu. The rain has dulled to a drizzle and Jin decides it's safe to build a fire.

"You've been quiet," he states softly as he finds and chops any dry wood found. Samurai-san can no longer bear the awkward silence.

She gives a noncommittal shrug and he thinks he hears a mumbled _yeah_. When she doesn't continue and maintains her silence Jin decides to leave her to herself for some time to cleanse himself but when he comes back she still stares into the weak dwindling fire, lost in its flickering movements. She shivers. Then she weakly coughs and, angrily astounded, Jin wonders why she did not bother to move her hands to throw a piece of the chopped wood _not three inches to her left _to save the fire—and her own health.

"Do you intend to kill yourself?" demands Jin of the small girl. He thinks he is overreacting but cannot help to question her intentional lack of self-concern. When she glares fiercely at him through misty eyes, Jin, taken aback, stiffly focuses his intent gaze towards Fuu.

"I'm not my mother," she snaps at him. "I won't die. I'm not that weak."

His steady eyes give no indication of his thoughts and she denies once more her weakness.

"I'm not."

He says nothing. The mist in her eyes evolves and becomes glossy above the nearly diminished flame.

"I'm not!"

Jin can think of nothing to say, once again. He stares at Fuu, unable to combat the very personal battle raging within her.

She bites down on her bottom lip _hard_ and tries to prevent an intermingling of newly shed tears with rain drops.

"I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm not—

"Fuu." Jin needs to intervene. His quiet utterance stops the girl cold and she hopelessly stares at him through damp lashes. Her wide eyes convey her young innocence but betray her every emotion though it's more obviously her innermost fears that shine through. Jin tries to think back to his childhood days—he never needed to be consoled during adolescence—and thinks back to what his sensei told him on the rare occasion that five-year-old Jin cried. The stoic samurai nearly face-faults, thinking it would hardly be appropriate to express to Fuu his master's words:_ 'Stop this nonsense and learn to be a man.'_ Although he has no previous experience with any type of comforting he thinks the words would have an adverse effect and Jin decides _all I can do is try._

"Fuu," he repeats, though unnecessarily; she's still waiting for him to continue. He inwardly groans, wondering what the hell to say. "You…" he chooses his words carefully (_it's another motto of his)._ "You are not without fault. It is difficult to find someone completely without fault, however," he adds quickly when he sees her face fall dejectedly. "Frailty is not among your weaknesses," Jin finishes awkwardly, hoping

the words

are

just

enough.

Fuu, eyes bright with tears, beams oddly at Jin. Slowly, a heartfelt smile crawls across her face and Jin's heart, _which he did not realize was pumping so fast_, relaxes for a second with relief but then pumps even faster when he realizes he's the reason for that smile.

**FIN**

Oh, I love Fuu and Jin together. To be honest, you probably won't see any Mugen x Fuu ficlets from me. But who knows…


	3. The Third

The Third: In which Fuu gets her first kiss.

Thanks to a special awesome reviewer who gets a dedication chapter because that's how I roll.

Disclaimer: Samurai Champloo is not mine. :'(

--

"Fuu." A monotonous voice breaks an almost record-breaking, four-hour silence. Fuu, relieved for the conversation and any opportunity to take her mind off the soul-searing chilliness of Akita, shifts her gaze to her right.

"Yes, Jin?"

"I'd like to make a pit stop at a local village, if it's alright."

She looks at him suspiciously as white flakes tumble gently from grey skies. "How local are we talking, exactly?"

"Not seven kilometers west. It will be better to stop soon, anyhow. The snow will not stop falling anytime soon. It's best we wait it out."

"Okay," Fuu nods as a wide grin appears on her face. She tries to keep it in check but fails miserably.

"What is it?" Jin asks defensively. He doesn't recall saying anything particularly amusing.

"Nothing," She giggles. "It's just that…it would be really juicy if you had some kind of huge secret double life, or something. And we have to go to this village to go see your illegitimate seven or eight or ten kids—

He sighs and wonders why he is still traveling with such a silly creature. "I'm only twenty," he responds trying to nullify Fuu's theories. "If I had ten kids I would have had to start when I was ten." Jin stops there, silently cursing himself; he knows that by giving her an answer, he's started another impossibly inane conversation.

Fuu giggles so hard she snorts. "OK, fine. What about, if you were caught, oh, I don't know—

"I got one," Mugen, who'd been unusually silent during the conversation, volunteers. "You were caught canoodling with some babe—well, it's _you_ so she probably wouldn't be a babe—

"A princess!" chirps Fuu.

"Yeah right! Probably some whore—

"A princess," Fuu insists. "And she, uh, had your baby! So she had to run away and you had to protect her from her father, who was the evil feudal lord, you know, stealing from the people…and now you're going back to slay him!" Fuu's eyes glaze over with imagination. "That's soo romantic."

Jin stares at Fuu in astounded confusion. "You…have an odd sense of romance." He shifts his gaze to Mugen, his glare clearly accusing Mugen of corrupting Fuu. _Where else would she have gotten such absurd ideas?_ But Mugen raises his hands defensively because _it ain't his fault bitch is crazy._

Jin clears his throat to catch Fuu's attention. His cheeks become a unique shade of cherry as he states, "I have never impregnated any woman."

"Hmph," Fuu snorts. Her cheeks are red too, but only partly because she's freezing. "As far as you know! With your awful brothel-visiting tendencies, who knows?"

He thinks about what she's said and his stomach sinks. But he refuses to acknowledge her valid argument verbally and instead says nothing, hoping to god that she sees it as a signal to end the conversation.

"You never got to hear my theory, though," says Mugen.

"Or how about this one," Fuu says, ignoring Mugen. "You were—

Jin's shoulders almost sag with disappointment and he decides to end the insanity.

"Fuu," Jin interrupts. "We're going to village to visit my parents' graves. It's nearing their death anniversary."

The happy smile slides off of Fuu's face in an instant as she gapes at Jin, feeling terrible. For her to become silent is exactly what Jin had wanted, but when she does stop talking and laughing he feels like an ass and starts to tell Fuu that _it really isn't a big deal, keep going_ she speaks.

_ I'm sorry_. The whispered words come from Fuu yet it's Jin who feels he needs to apologize.

He shakes his head. "There is no need. It's been over ten years."

She shoots him an unconvinced glance but doesn't elaborate on her thoughts.

"We should be nearing the village soon." Jin says after a pause. Fuu nods her head while Mugen grunts something akin to _dumbass_.

--

Their graves are on the outskirts of the village, and Jin informs his companions. "Even so," he states, "it's best if we stay at an inn. Night falls quickly in the winter solstice."

"Mm," agrees Fuu as she steps carefully over snow-covered pebbles. Suddenly Jin stops and quietly he says, "We are here. You both should head to the village and find an inn before the snow gets heavier. I will be there shortly."

"But—" Fuu starts to argue but stops when Jin shakes his head. "I would rather do this by myself. Nonetheless, I thank you."

She gives him an unsure look but abides by his wishes. "Okay. Let's go, Mugen." She pulls him by the sleeve.

Once they're gone, Jin shudders though it's not completely due to the freezing wind.

Jin kneels and wonders what he should say. He estimates that he only has a few minutes before he's completely frostbitten and again, wonders what to tell his deceased parents—he'd only been to their graves twice before, both occasions forced by his master. _"It's important to receive the blessings of your ancestors," he'd said._ But Jin's never seen the point of praying to the dead, when they clearly could not hear. _Why bother_, he thinks, sighing. Nothing comes to his mind and he stiffly pulls his palms apart from their respectful gesture.

Jin cannot force himself to pray for his dead parents and thinks that _maybe he should ask for forgiveness._

Slowly making his way towards his former village, Jin looks up and notices a small, almost dead flower hanging from a tree. He'd noticed Fuu glancing at it and plucks it for her. He hides it in the hidden pocket of his sleeve and follows the track of footprints his companions have left in the snow.

He finds his companions resting at the only inn the small village has. Jin slides open the paper-thin doors without knocking and shuffles in quietly. He doesn't want to rouse Fuu from her nap and knows that his efforts are futile with Mugen; the moment he opened the doors Mugen had his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"That was quick," rumbles Mugen, withdrawing his hand from the weapon. Jin shrugs in response, gingerly setting down his swords as he glances at Fuu.

"I assume you've checked out the bar already."

_ It's a tradition they've made, to stop by a local bar in any village they come across. _

So Mugen rolls his eyes; _does he even have to ask?_ "Yeah. Everything's too damn expensive."

"I see." Jin then proceeds to take his outer gi off, leaving him with only the thermal innerwear. "I'll come back later," he says as a goodbye.

"Where you off to?" Immediately Mugen inwardly cringes—God, he sounds like a nagging housewife.

Jin smirks, knowing that they have just shared the same thought. "There is a hot spring very close by."

Mugen frowns. "I didn't see no hot spring."

"The villagers try to keep it a secret to discourage a mass influx of tourists. They tend to keep to themselves."

"How'd you know that, then?"

Jin hesitates. "I…lived here until the death of my parents."

"Gotcha." Then Mugen looks expectantly at Jin. For an entire thirty (_quite awkward_, thinks Jin) seconds.

"I take it you wish to come along?" finally asks Jin, dryly.

"Hell yeah I do, nothing to do here. But…I'm not stripping here; it's too damn cold outside."

"Your choice," Jin shrugs indifferently. "The walk isn't far, and the cold helps control the mind."

"Whatever, let's go."

They leave, but not before Jin remembers the flower hidden away in his sleeve and places it on a nearby desk.

--

Two slabs of stone. That's all there is in front of Fuu.

_ For a split second she regrets sneaking out but her determination voids her previous thoughts _

She's draped Jin's gi like a curtain over her petite body comfortably and while the freezing wind whips around her she clutches the warmth of blue gi which _she didn't steal, just borrowed_, and kneels in front of the graves of Jin's parents. Fuu lights two sticks of incense that she bought from a local merchant with the dim torch _which isn't really a torch, more like a stick of wood lit on fire_ and sticks them, along with the torch, into the snow-covered forest floor. She then lines her palms together and bows her head in respect for the dead. She doesn't know quite what to say—she's never Jin's parents—but still she prays for their souls. When her silent prayers conclude, she whispers two words she's been itching to say since she discovered Jin intentions to visit the graves.

"I'm sorry."

It's simple, what she says, but she can't bring herself to say anymore. She's sorry they never really got to know their son. She's sorry they suffered so much. She's sorry she's dragging their son all over Japan to help her sorry ass. She's sorry the world is just so damn unfair.

She pulls apart her hands to pick up the nearly extinguished torch. "Shit," she mumbles, then frowns and berates herself for being such a pottymouth. Before she can start looking around for other dry pieces of wood to replace her light and warmth source, the fire is completely burned out. Fuu groans in disbelief and she wonders, _how does she get into these situations?_ But then she amends the thought process, positively thinking that _at least she hasn't been kidnapped. _

But then she hears a pair of feet lightly crunching against the freshly fallen snow and her stomach plummets and her heart is pounding and, like a deer, she's too frozen with fear to move from impending doom.

But the tall, slim figure is carrying a torch—a real torch, not a burning stick—and it illuminates his handsome face. Fuu exhales with relief, but when she sees the deep frown etched in his face she tenses once more. She watches his face carefully for any sign of anger but all she sees are his grey eyes darkening to a deep charcoal as he roams her blue-gi-clad figure.

_ She's too innocent to know that it's complete desire darkening his eyes and mistakes it for anger when he says in that deep voice of his_, "It was foolish of you to come out here."

Her shoulders slump and she stutters, "W-w-well, I-I thought it's b-best to pay my respects, when you c-couldn't see…or know…speaking of," she starts, losing her stutter, "How'd you know I was here?"

"I had a feeling you would come. That's why I left my swords and warmer outwear behind. I indirectly warned you of the dangers," he admonishes, "so you would not come. There are wolves out here, but you did not sufficiently arm or clothe yourself, despite being left clothing and two swords to choose from." Jin sighs. "Why come out all this way…"

"Is it really such a bad thing?" Fuu retorts. "Your parents loved you, why not pray for them and plus we aren't so far from the village, and I _really_ wanted to say thanks and I'm sorry, and you were so adamant on me not coming, please say something, don't just _look _at me like that—

"Fuu," he interrupts. "Thank you."

That stops her cold and she gapes at him. _It's not what she's expecting_.

"I…previously found myself unable to pay my own respects." He doesn't elaborate and Fuu doesn't push. "But…maybe now…" he says, kneeling down.

Fuu begins to take a few steps back, thinking it's a private moment for Jin, but he grabs her wrist and holds on even when he's done praying. He's standing now, and Fuu can't even recall when he did because she's so focused on him holding her wrist with those hands that she's been fantasizing about for so long. The gentle wind bustling around them has Fuu shivering and she uses her free hand to tug Jin's gi closer to her body and when she sees his eyes darken once more she thinks, _shit I forgot I had his clothes on_, but the thought is squelched once she feels the pain of Jin's hand tightening around her wrist.

"Ow," she hisses. Jin immediately retracts his hand but Fuu misses the contact so she decides to be bold and brave and grasps his hand into her small one. She watches his eyes widen so she smiles sweetly and it only fades away once she notices that she's the focus of his intense gaze. Her toes curl a little bit and her stomach flips as those eyes drop to her mouth. She looks to the right and to the left several times but even after that much time he's still looking at her mouth and she bites her lower lip nervously.

He takes a step closer. They're so close their chests are touching, now and when she breathes and her breasts rise against his chest, he groans and captures her lips with his own. Fuu inhales sharply—it's her first kiss—but she enjoys the feeling so much that she winds her arms around his neck. His arms are busy as well and they nearly crush Fuu's body against his.

But suddenly she feels wetness on her cheek and pulls back. Fuu looks up and sees white snowflakes fluttering from the sky. She lets out a husky laugh—she didn't know she could do that, and neither did Jin, from the look of surprise and blatant desire on his face—and, as her eyes twinkle happily at him, she suggests they return to the inn.

She kisses his adam's apple—it's all she can reach on tippie-toes—leaving him stunned as he watches her walk with a definite swing of her hips.

--

_ Later on, she thanks him for the flower in a quite enjoyable way  
_

_-- _

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I was such an idiot last time and forgot to put in thanks. I sent everyone a personal thanks except the anonymous-es, who didn't give an e-mail address…but thanks to you all too!

I got this review from Fe who said (s)he didn't like how it was Mugen's fault that Fuu broke down. It wasn't my intention to make him the "bad guy" at all--rather, when he says that they should stop, after that pregnant pause, I meant for him to say it with concern--he cares for Fuu but cannot say it without some measure of gruffness. I think that Fuu is just tired of being looked upon as a burden and doesnt want to live the life her mother did and is trying to overcome that history. That's why she gets so pissed and emotional when they have to stop because of _her_. She suffers from occasional self-hatred, i think. Besides, Jin suggested it first AND he said that Fuu would get sick. So it makes sense that she needs to hear that she isn't weak from the person who, she thinks, basically said it. So thanks to Fe for pointing that out!

Forgive me if you feel this chapter is a little lacking—I kinda feel the same way. Not really happy with it, but please leave a review anyway. You have no idea how happy it makes me. To be honest, it's a little absurd, how happy I get. Till next time!


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